“Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.”
Matthew 15:29-31 ESV

Jesus has just shocked the crowd in His exchange with the Syro-Phoenician woman. Her daughter was possessed by a demon and even though she obviously wasn’t Jewish, Jesus (after playing a little dialog game with her to teach his disciples about the breadth of God’s love) heals her daughter and complements her faith. And now, in an expressly mixed racial area, with Jews and Gentiles, Jesus starts healing anyone and everyone.

And what was the result of this?
They glorified the God of Israel.

Even if He wasn’t the god they grew up with, or that their parents taught them about, YHWH Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Hebrew people is now receiving their praise.

Sometimes, we see God working in the life of another person, another family or another church and because we don’t see anything going on in our own life at the moment (for a host of reasons I won’t get into right now), we assume that we must not have His favor or even His concern.
We throw a spiritual pity party and without consulting the Host, we assume that we haven’t been invited to the big party that those other people are obviously attending.

And so we stand of to the side, hands in our pockets, assuming that we are loved less by the God who has promised to love equally and without prejudice all who humbly come to Him. But in this moment, we assume that we cannot possibly be loved like they are loved, or that we cannot be loved in the way that is meaningful for us.

This is a ridiculous line of thought. If you are walking with Jesus, if you have given your life to Him, repenting of sin, accepting His grace, being baptized into Him and then walking as He commissioned you to walk…you are walking in His love. He is the One who showed you grace at the beginning. He has first loved you. He opened the door to life and salvation and joy and peace and gave your life direction and purpose…and now you think He found a prettier girl at the party and He’s just going to leave you behind?

If Jesus showed us anything, He showed us that the love of God stretches far beyond the bounds of our comprehension and understanding. While we were still sinners, He died for us. While we were still actively fighting against Him, He came to draw us into His arms.

Why would we think for a moment that that love was going to diminish or change? Why would it lessen? Yes, God moves in mysterious ways and has plans for one person that will be radically different in appearance from the plans He has for another, but that is not an indication of one being loved more or less than another.

We cannot look at the love of God in the way the world looks at love. The poor widow who has outlived her children and suffers with cancer is loved just as much as the man who lives a life of celibacy, has vast wealth and perfect health. Possessions don not equal love. Health does not equal love. Television preachers seeking ratings and personal income may preach this lie, trying to sell more books with their smiling face on the front, but this simply isn’t so.

God’s love is not so shallow or so impotent. We are all Hs children who call on His Name and are baptized into His Son. Our past doesn’t matter. Our socio-economic status doesn’t even show up on the meter. God loves us, and He desires that all should come to Him. Not just the pretty and powerful, but the poor and pitied. We all equally are guilty of sin and we all equally need grace.

The Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter and the Jews who were healed after her shared in the same compassion and mercy. It came from the same heart of love. God’s love isn’t biased or greater for one group, individual or church than it is for another. Be satisfied in Him. Know that He loves you fully. Trust in His faithfulness. There is no shame for an unsettled child asking their father for a comforting hug. If you ever feel unloved, hold your hands and heart up to Him. Seek His face and His Word. Talk with Him and be attentive to His response. You are loved. So, GoLove in the same way.